Doggie Paddle

By Margaret Lyons in Miscellaneous on Sep 27, 2007 1:52PM

A dog named Miss Pickles was rescued from the Chicago River last night.

Miss Pickles's owner Claude was walking her and his three other pooches—yes, on leashes, according to reports—near Chicago and Halsted when Miss Pickles, a bullmastiff, started chasing a rat. She wound up running right into the water, so Claude called 911.

After falling in the water, Miss Pickles began to paddle eastbound underneath the bridge, before heading north around the Goose Island turnaround, [Chicago Police Sgt. Harry] Jozefowicz said. A Chicago Fire Department diver spotted the dog by a bridge near Division and Halsted, about a half-mile from where she went into the river.

The diver "went into the water, propped the dog up and put a rope around the dog's collar," Jozefowicz said. The diver pulled Miss Pickles to safety "in a matter of seconds," the sergeant said, adding that the entire rescue effort lasted about 15 minutes.

A joyful reunion, a pooch swimming half a mile, and the name "Miss Pickles." There are worse stories to start a day, kids.

Miss Pickles portrait from ABC 7